Work-family Integration Research Articles

Performative Facework During Graduate School: International Graduate Student Parents’ Navigation of Work and Family Precarities

This paper examined how international graduate student parents (IGSPs) engage in performative facework to deal with their non-normative parent identity in graduate schools in the United States. Participants engaged in sedimentary facework to perform the ideal graduate student face. IGSPs’ sedimentary facework perpetuated their own marginalization as they disciplined themselves to “hide the children” and avoid receiving “special favors.” Nevertheless, sedimentary facework provided face cover that enabled IGSPs to actually have children in practice. A few IGSPs worked with mentors who advocated work–family integration and engaged in subversive facework that disrupted the child-free norm of graduate students, thus cultivating the potential for individual resistance and structural change. Taking a feminist intersectional lens, we unveil how participants’ performances of the ideal graduate student face are entrenched in intersectional precarities to problematize the dominating workplace ideology privileging neoliberal productivity over personal and family well-being.

Unequal Ground: Gender Disparities at Work Life in the Construction Industry

This research intends to explore how gender impacts different aspects of the quality of work life, emotional intelligence, and the work–family interface among professionals in the Indian construction industry. This study employs quantitative methodology using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaires were circulated to 900 construction professionals, and 724 valid responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 80.44%. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and independent sample t-Tests. The independent samples t-Test revealed significant (p < 0.05) gender disparities in various quality of work life factors, emotional intelligence, and work–family interface. Males had a more positive perception of career growth, management, and the working environment. In contrast, females experienced higher job satisfaction, work commitment, personal satisfaction towards their workplace and personal life, a higher work–family interface, and a better work–life balance. Females also experienced a higher level of physical exhaustion and had a higher level of emotional intelligence, while males experienced a higher level of mental exhaustion. There were no significant gender differences in satisfaction towards remuneration and fringe benefits, work culture, or the level of psychological exhaustion. The findings suggest that construction industry organizations could implement policies and practices that promote equal opportunities, provide support for work–family integration, and foster a culture of emotional intelligence. This research adds to the current body of knowledge by igniting novel empirical proof of gender-based differences in the Indian construction industry. It highlights the importance of addressing these disparities to improve the quality of work life, emotional intelligence, and work–family interface among professionals in the industry.

National family policies and the association between flexible working arrangements and work-to-family conflict across Europe

Objective: This paper explores how national family policies moderate the association between flexible working arrangements and work-to-family conflict across countries. Background: Although flexible working is provided to enhance work-family integration, studies show that it can in fact increase work-to-family conflict. However, certain policy contexts can help moderate this association by introducing contexts that enable workers to use of flexible working arrangements to better meet their family and other life demands. Method: The paper uses the European Working Conditions Survey of 2015 including data from workers with caring responsibilities from across 30 European countries. It uses a multilevel cross-level interaction model to examine how family policies, such as childcare and parental leave policies, can explain the cross-national variation in the association between flexible working arrangements, that is flexitime, working-time autonomy, and teleworking, and work-to-family conflict. Results: At the European average, flexible working was associated with higher levels of work-to-family conflict for workers, with working-time-autonomy being worse for men’s, and teleworking being worse for women’s conflict levels. In countries with generous childcare policies, flexitime was associated with lower levels of work-to-family conflict, especially for women. However, in countries with long mother’s leave, working-time-autonomy was associated with even higher levels of work-to-family conflict for men. Conclusion: The results of this paper evidence how flexible working arrangements need to be introduced in a more holistic manner with possible reforms of wider range of family policies in order for flexible working to meet worker’s work-family integration demands.

Family Planning in Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Comparison Between Male and Female Surgeons

BackgroundAlthough work-family balance impacts specialty selection for medical students of both sexes, pregnancy and childbearing experiences are unique to women. Cardiothoracic surgery, with low female representation, must prioritize these issues to support women entering the field. This study compared family planning experiences between male and female cardiothoracic surgeons. MethodsAn anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to cardiothoracic trainees and surgeons from January to June 2023. Descriptive data were collected on family planning perceptions, assisted reproductive technology use, number of children, and pregnancy characteristics (maternal age, complications, miscarriage). Male surgeons reported pregnancy outcomes of their childbearing partners. ResultsOf 378 participants, 45.77% were women, and mean age was 44.40 ± 11.59 years. Compared with male surgeons, female surgeons were more often deterred from pursuing cardiothoracic surgery due to a desire to have children (41.62% vs 22.93%, P = .004), more often used assisted reproductive technology (32.37% vs 15.12%, P < .001), had fewer children (1.92 vs 2.48, P < .001), and had fewer children than desired (40.81% vs 25.14%, P < .001). Compared with partners of male surgeons, female surgeons were older at first live birth (34 vs 32 years, P < .001). Among female surgeons, 73 (42.40%) experienced 155 miscarriages, and 54 (74%) reported taking 0 days off from work after miscarriage. ConclusionsThe path to parenthood varies significantly by sex for cardiothoracic surgeons, with women more likely to be deterred from the profession by perceived challenges. Policies that promote work-family integration, support maternal-fetal health, and provide support following fetal loss are needed.

Balancing work and family when family is work: a reconceptualization of work–family integration, burnout and detachment in family business

PurposeBuilding from calls for greater interdisciplinary research in interpreting family business phenomena, we integrate research on work–family conflict, detachment and burnout from both organizational and family studies. Using the characteristic work–family integration of family business settings as a backdrop we develop theoretical arguments that emphasize the reconciliatory role of interdisciplinary perspectives to explain the ostensibly contradictory findings in extant research. The diminishing barriers separating work and life spheres occurring in most global industries illustrate the importance of conceiving the study of work–life phenomena through recursive, rather than linear, logics and emphasizing the relevance of family business research in providing a contextual foundation for interdisciplinary discussions.Design/methodology/approachThis theoretical paper integrates perspectives from the literatures on organizational behavior and family systems theory to form six propositions on the relationship between work–life integration and the antecedents and consequences of burnout and psychological detachment.FindingsThis paper explores the nuances that overlapping work and family roles might be a source of both harmony and discord in family firms. In doing so, our research contributes to the growing relationship between family systems theory and family business research, and creates the foundation for future empirical studies on the psychological dynamics that underlie work–family integration.Originality/valueThis research advances a novel perspective on the interactions between work–family integration and burnout and detachment, and does so by noting that the way the family business literature treats work–family integration may apply to any employee that experiences tension between these different spheres of their identity.

Personal Competencies for Work–Family Integration and Its Relationship with Productivity and Comprehensive Health in Salaried Professionals

Work–Family Integration (WFI) is the decision-making process that enables an individual to effectively balance work, family, and personal responsibilities, generating a level of personal satisfaction aligned with the management of these demands. This research aims to explore the potential links between personal competencies facilitating work and family integration (WFI Competencies), employer-provided support (WFI Support), perceived satisfaction in role integration (WFI Satisfaction), and their association with organizational performance indicators and the overall health of professionals in dependent employment. Data were obtained via an online questionnaire administered to 270 professionals possessing a university education or higher, employed in public or private organizations spanning various sectors in Venezuela. The data were subsequently analyzed utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study was divided into two main parts: the factorial analysis (both exploratory and confirmatory) of measurement models and the analysis of the relationships and modeling inherent to the structural model. Initially, two diagnostic instruments were developed, one for WFI Competencies and another for WFI Indicators; though applied simultaneously, their structuring and validation were conducted separately. In the subsequent phase, conceptual models for structural analysis were defined. A positive relationship was observed between WFI Support and WFI Satisfaction, corroborating findings from previous research. The relationships between WFI Competencies and Satisfaction led to insights into the necessity of training to strengthen the personal decision-making process under the dual pressures of work and family roles. Future longitudinal studies could elucidate the effects of relationships within such programs on WFI Satisfaction. Concerning organizational indicators, this study found that WFI Satisfaction positively correlates with organizational commitment, enhancing work productivity and mitigating negative health effects. This research presents a model that could be replicated in other countries and with various sample types, facilitating comparative analyses that enrich the body of knowledge on this subject.

The role of private and institutional support to favor work-family integration in pre-service and in-service teachers: Self-related vs. context-related arguments

Research related to the integration of the demands of work and family highlights the difficulties teachers experience in handling their careers and private lives. The goal of this study is to examine the arguments they use to explain what might make work-family integration easier for them. A questionnaire has been administered to 728 teachers in Israel and Switzerland, two countries dealing with teachers’ work-family relations. Through a qualitative analysis of the types of arguments advanced by teachers, the reconstruction of their reasoning (for the topical and endoxical components) has been performed. Results reveal that the support of family and institution are advanced as critical aspects in both countries. Implications in shaping teachers’ attitudes towards work-family integration are discussed.

Two Sides to Every Story: Dual Experiences of Work-Family Integration while Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Two Sides to Every Story: Dual Experiences of Work-Family Integration while Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Flexible Working and the Division of Housework and Childcare: Examining Divisions across Arrangement and Occupational Lines

Using the UK Household Longitudinal Study we examine how flexible working is associated with the division of housework and childcare among dual-earner heterosexual couples with young children. Although flexible working may enable better work-family integration, it can also reinforce traditional divisions of domestic labour where women perform more housework and childcare. The degree to which this occurs may vary across arrangements due to differences in the flexibility and permeability of boundaries. We also expect occupational variations but in a paradoxical manner; the constraints and resources workers have may cause the associations to conflict with assumptions based on gender role attitudes. Results show that arrangements that allow more boundary blurring, such as homeworking, are associated with more traditional divisions of childcare but not necessarily of housework. Flexitime, especially for the lower-skilled/paid occupations, enables a more egalitarian division of labour, possibly because it is used to maximise households’ working hours and income.

Sustainable Work Practices for Optimizing Work-Family Integration in India

The symposium aims to problematize the concept of work-family (WF) integration specific to the Indian cultural context. A sizable amount of scientific discourse points to the relevance of more culture-specific insights on the issue in order to alleviate concerns of the working population. While researchers in India have recently been pursuing this objective by adopting an emic approach, research on WF integration is still scant, needs careful evaluation and streamlining to devise solutions and to create more sustainable, culturally aligned, and relevant work practices. To this end, the symposium includes four India specific studies and approaches the subject from an individual perspective (eg., factors affecting employees’ factual autonomy and role of resilience in dealing with work and family demands) as well as organizational policy (eg., empowering employees and leaders to set individual boundaries and the efficacy of telecommuting- the challenges and opportunities for employees and leaders). The studies discuss pertinent challenges in developing sustainable WF practices in India in order to instigate more debates, deliberations on the topic and propose pertinent future research directions and implications for employees and organizations. Are you free! Romance of the illusionary work-life integration and factual autonomy Presenter: Deepika Swain; XIMU Presenter: Lalatendu Kesari Jena; Xavier School of Human Resource Management, Xavier U. Bhubaneswar Presenter: Suchitra Pal; Associate Professor, School of HRM, XIM U., Bhubaneswar, India Intervene to Integrate: Policy Interventions for Work-Family Integration in Indian Context Presenter: Kedarnath Thakur; Doctoral Scholar, Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, India Presenter: Yasmin Kukul; MBA (HRM) School of Human Resource Management XIM U., Bhubaneswar, India Presenter: Lalatendu Kesari Jena; Xavier School of Human Resource Management, Xavier U. Bhubaneswar A closer look at demands, resources, and resilience on work-family conflict in the US and India Presenter: Tejinder Billing; Rowan U. Presenter: Rupashree Baral; IIT Madras Presenter: Nicholas J. Beutell; Iona College - LaPenta School of Business Telecommuting: Irks or works? Presenter: Manveen Kaur; Alumni, London School of Economics; Analyst, Deloitte India

"It's Not the Same for Mom and Dad" – Work-Family Integration of Indian Dual Working Parents in Covid19

"It's Not the Same for Mom and Dad" – Work-Family Integration of Indian Dual Working Parents in Covid19

Exploring the Work-Family Integration During COVID-19 and Beyond

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, influence on business and organization practices and policies, and the number of couples joining the workforce in India has increased significantly. Due to forced work-from-home strategy and rigid work policies, couples struggle to integrate their professional and personal lives effectively. Various work and family-related topics are examined in this study to see how Indian couples manage work and family. An exploratory qualitative research article interviewed ten couples from Indian software companies. The six main themes that emerge from the stories include the impact of family on life choices, the difficulties of balancing many roles, and the need for coping methods in the workplace.

Erratum: Discrepancies in Work-Family Integration Between Female and Male Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Erratum: Discrepancies in Work-Family Integration Between Female and Male Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Work-family integration and segmentation in the gig economy: An exploratory study on Airbnb hosts' experiences

Currently, there are four million hosts on Airbnb worldwide (Airbnb (2021). Although the number of Airbnb hosts keeps on rising, little is known about their experiences, as most studies on accommodation sharing services have predominantly focused on guests’ perspectives. This exploratory study investigates the work-family experiences of Airbnb hosts. Following preliminary interviews, we recruited Airbnb hosts to complete an online survey in which we examined the relationships between hosts’ preference for managing their work-family responsibilities (segmentation vs integration) in relation to work-family conflict, satisfaction, and intention to stay with Airbnb, and life satisfaction. Our results—from 136 respondents—indicated that Airbnb hosts who prefer segmentation (separating work and family) experience higher work-family conflict, which was associated with lower job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and intention to stay, compared to those who prefer integration (mixing work and family). Indirect effects were also found; work-family conflict mediated the relationship between segmentation preference and the studied outcomes. Findings suggest that work-family conflict needs to be re-examined in light of the unique demands associated with the gig economy. This study breaks new ground by investigating the work-family lives of Airbnb hosts, with important consequences for individuals, families, guests, and communities.

Discrepancies in Work-Family Integration Between Female and Male Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Female surgeons, representing 6.5% of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, are particularly vulnerable to work-family conflict. This conflict may deter women from considering orthopaedic surgery as a specialty. The study objective was to identify differences in work-family integration between female and male orthopaedic surgeons in the United States. An anonymous survey collecting data within the domains of work, family, and satisfaction was completed by 347 orthopaedic surgeons (153 female, 194 male). Differences in responses between males and females were identified. Female surgeons were younger than males (mean, 41.1 versus 50.1 years; p < 0.001) and earlier in their careers, with 60.3% of males in practice >10 years compared with 26.1% of females (p < 0.001). Consulting (7.8% versus 31.4%; p < 0.001), course faculty positions (19.0% versus 39.2%; p < 0.001), and academic and leadership titles (30.7% versus 47.4%; p = 0.002) were significantly less common among females. There was a significant income disparity between females (mean yearly income, $300,000 to $400,000) and males (mean, $400,000 to $500,000; p < 0.001). Females were more likely to have never married (12.4% versus 2.6%; p < 0.001), or they married at a later mean age (30.2 ± 4.7 versus 28.3 ± 3.9 years; p < 0.001). Females were more likely to have no children (29.4% versus 7.8%; p < 0.001), require fertility treatment (32.0% versus 11.9%; p < 0.001), and not have children until after completing their medical training (63.0% versus 31.1%; p < 0.001). Female surgeons reported more responsibility in parenting (p < 0.001) and household duties (p < 0.001) than males. Work-family balance satisfaction was 72.3% in females and 82.1% in males (p = 0.081). This study highlights deficiencies in work-family integration that appear to uniquely impact female orthopaedic surgeons. Female surgeons delay starting a family, more frequently require fertility treatments, carry more responsibility at home, have fewer academic and leadership roles, earn lower incomes, and are less satisfied with work-family balance relative to males. The discrepancy in work-family integration must be addressed to attract, support, and retain women as successful orthopaedic surgeons.

Lone Motherhood and Welfare Feminism: A Comparative Case Study of Iceland and Denmark

AbstractThe Nordic countries have gained a global reputation for their robust welfare states. They are praised as being the best countries in the world for families—but what kind? Using Iceland and Denmark as comparative case studies in welfare feminism, this article explores how lone mothers engage with Nordic family leave policies and labor markets. Based on in-depth interviews with Icelandic and Danish lone mothers, it demonstrates that work–family integration policies are more effective in social–democratic Denmark, but that Iceland’s more liberal welfare regime may provide greater benefits to women in the labor market. Ultimately, lone mothers in both countries still face difficulties in reconciling work and family life.

Private smartphone use during worktime: A diary study on the unexplored costs of integrating the work and family domains

Facilitated by communication technology (i.e., smartphones), many employees adopt a work-family integration strategy to cope with work and home demands simultaneously. Taking boundary theory as a starting point, this quantitative diary study examines the potential impact of private smartphone use at work—i.e., boundary-crossing behavior—on employee well-being. We hypothesized that private smartphone use would be positively associated with the subjective experience of being interrupted, especially when smartphone use was appraised negatively (vs. positively). Additionally, we predicted that these interruptions by private smartphone use would be positively related to end-of-day exhaustion, and that this relationship would be stronger for employees who value work over family (high vs. low work centrality). The hypotheses were tested using a sample of 67 employees from various occupations who completed a short daily questionnaire for four successive workdays (N = 237 data points). The results of multilevel analyses generally supported the hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Masculinity in flux? Male managers navigating between work and family

ABSTRACTThe article sheds light on male managers’ experience as fathers in a post-Soviet context in Lithuania. This empirical study of 12 male managers’ experiences of work-family integration (WFI), their ways of coping with negative experiences, and the role of organizations in reducing conflict and enriching WFI, reveal the emergence of a new paternal identity: fathers who perceive their role as caregivers but for whom this is still subordinate to the dominant role of the breadwinner. Relying on their wife is a man’s dominant coping strategy. Organizations are perceived as family unfriendly. The managerial implications of the need for organizational support are discussed.

Job satisfaction: a positive attribute of work-family integration for female social work faculty

ABSTRACT Academic literature exploring the experiences and needs among women in the social work professorate has yet to explore the ways in which work-life and family-life are compatible, including work-life enrichment and job satisfaction. To remedy this empirical gap, the current descriptive exploratory study of 504 female tenure-track social work academics investigates components essential to job satisfaction, which are also important to work-life enrichment. A particular emphasis is placed on differences and similarities between women who have dependent children (e.g., under 18 and in the home), women who have adult children, and women who have no children. Data were collected using an on-line survey of social work faculty working at CSWE accredited programs. Variables explored include professional connectedness, workplace empowerment, career satisfaction, and stress. The most salient finding is that having dependent children is not a detriment to factors essential for successful work-life enrichment and job satisfaction, even though overall stress is higher. The three groups have more similarities than differences. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are addressed.

It all comes out in the wash: family policy, ideology and the pathway to contemporary mothering

ABSTRACT In this article, we delineate the pathways by which mothers’ strategies to integrate work and family emerge during the early years of parenthood. We conducted a secondary analysis of 100 interviews with 17 families from a longitudinal, qualitative data set that explored women’s strategizing about work-family integration during early parenthood. Using Critical Feminist Theory and principles of Institutional Ethnography, we examined the ways in which contextual factors, including couple level processes, and individual preferences, interacted to shape work-family integration strategies over time. For most mothers, there was little alignment between early preferences regarding work-family integration and actual arrangements over time. Most mothers made work-family integration decisions, including decisions about use of family policies, and interpreted work-family integration challenges, according to the ideal of intensive motherhood. This hooked mothers into a pathway that led them to adjust or abandon early strategies, and that progressively ‘washed out’ differences in preferences. The pathway also led to strategies in which child care was prioritized over paid work involvement. This study contributes to understanding of the processes and pathways by which women align their work-family integration preferences and strategies to dominant ideology of motherhood, a process that reinforces gender roles in families with young children.